For each doctoral thesis an external examiner from outside the university is appointed on behalf of the Assistant Vice-President (Graduate Studies) by the department chair, in consultation with the advisor. The external examiner must not have served as advisor to the student’s advisor or have been a trainee of the advisor in the last six years, must not have directly collaborated in joint projects or co-authored publications with the advisor or the student in the last six years, and must not have an existing plan to collaborate with the advisor or the student. In addition, the external examiner must not have been a student or member of the graduate faculty at the University in the last five years. The nomination will be made when the candidate's advisor declares that the thesis is about to be prepared, normally no later than the beginning of the student's last semester. The external examiner will submit a written appraisal of the thesis (at least seven days prior to the examination) to the chair of the department who will then provide these comments to the candidate and the Advisory Committee. The external examiner is expected to participate in the final oral examination and to assist in evaluating all aspects of the candidate's performance. Any individual who serves as an External Examiner may not serve again until a period of 3 years has passed.

The thesis may be submitted at any time of the year, but candidates are advised to allow ample time for revision and examination. A copy of the schedule of deadlines should be obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies by the candidate no later than the beginning of the semester in which the candidate intends to graduate.

It is understood that, as the thesis is being written, the candidate will be in regular communication with the advisory committee. When a draft is completed which the advisory committee recommends for examination, the candidate, with the endorsement of the departmental chair, formally requests an examination. A copy of the final draft is then sent to the external examiner as fair copy of the thesis. Arrangements for the final oral examinations are made. It is understood that as a result of the final oral examination corrections may be necessary to produce a revised final draft of the thesis.

The final examination is devoted chiefly, but not necessarily entirely, to the defence of the thesis. It is a faculty (as distinct from a departmental) examination, for which the arrangements are made by the department and the college on behalf of the faculty in consultation with the Office of Graduate Studies.

The examination is conducted by a committee consisting of five members, as follows:

• The departmental Graduate Program Coordinator, who acts as chair of the examination committee;

• The external examiner;

• A member of the regular graduate faculty who is not a member of the advisory committee, selected by the department chair;

• Two members of the student's advisory committee, selected by the advisory committee.

The Assistant Vice-President of Graduate Studies, or a designate, may attend a part or all of the examination. The examination is open to the public and members of the audience may question the candidate only upon invitation of the chair of the committee.

The members of the examination committee, including the external examiner, report individually on the final examination and the thesis. The candidate is deemed to have passed if no more than one of the four examiners votes negatively. An abstention is regarded as a negative vote. Concurrently, the members sign the Certificate of Approval, which is submitted with the approved thesis in its final form to the Office of Graduate Studies (see Submission of Thesis). The report to the Assistant Vice-President (Graduate Studies) will record the decision as unsatisfactory or satisfactory. If unsatisfactory, the candidate may be given a second attempt. A second unsatisfactory result constitutes a recommendation to the Board of Graduate Studies that the student be required to withdraw (see Unsatisfactory Progress and Appeals of Decisions).

One electronic (.pdf) copy of the certified thesis must be submitted to the Atrium by the thesis submission deadline date shown in the Academic Schedule in the calendar. Also included in the electronic submission must be a copy of an abstract consisting of no more than 350 words. The Certificate of Approval signed by the external examiner and the members of the examination committee, a copy of the circulation waiver and the copying license must also be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. Departments may have a requirement to submit a bound copy of the thesis.

The Certificate of Approval indicates that the thesis is suitable for publication. The university requires publication of the thesis in the following manner:

One electronic copy of the thesis is uploaded by the National Library of Canada, and the agreement form signed by the candidate authorizing the National Library to publish the thesis and to make copies available for sale on request. The National Library will upload the thesis exactly as it is and will list the thesis in Theses Canada as a publication of the National Library.

An abstract of not more than 350 words, prepared by the author and approved by the advisor and submitted as part of the electronic thesis submission, is also uploaded by the National Library.

The National Library's Theses Non-Exclusive License will be sent to the candidate prior to the final oral examination, to be signed and submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies immediately after the successful completion of the examination.

The candidate, in consultation with the advisor and the department chair, shall have the right to request that circulation and/or copying of the thesis in any form be withheld for up to one year.

Publication in the above manner does not preclude publication of all or part of the thesis in journals or in book form.